Daily News Energy Headlines for August 5, 2015

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) over the past week.

NATURAL GAS
U.S. Natural Gas Has Smallest Inventory Gain in Four Months - The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. natural gas inventories rose 32 billion cubic feet in the week ending July 31 to 2.9 trillion cubic feet, the smallest inventory gain since early April.

POWER
Power Demand on ERCOT System Breaks New Record - Power demand on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system reached 68,459 megawatts (MW) between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, exceeding the previous record set in August 2011 by more than 150 MW.

PRODUCTION
Exxon Increases Permian Acreage - Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XMO) (Irving, Texas) on Thursday announced that it had made agreements to increase its drilling assets in the Permian Basin by 48,000 acres.

FINANCIAL
Cash-Strapped Producers Sell Assets - Data compiled by Bloomberg show that oil and gas producers announced more than $2.4 billion in asset sales last month.
Duke Energy Achieves $3.2 Billion Capex in First-Half 2015, Buys into Major Natural Gas Pipeline - Capital expenditures by Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) amounted to nearly $3.2 billion in the first half of 2015, the electric power holding company said Thursday.

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Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the trading, logistics and marketing communities. We are the number one source for information about electricity outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.